Tuning In: Give Tommy Heinsohn points for passion

Tommy Heinsohn turned 78 in August, but he’s having too much fun to consider retiring as Celtics analyst on CSNNE.

“I’ve got a great job,” Heinsohn said. “All I have to do is talk is for 2-1/2 hours three times a week for six months and make a lot of money and have the rest of the year off. That’s pretty good.”

Heinsohn is known for awarding Tommy Points to standout players and ripping referees, but few know the game as well as he does. Heinsohn won eight NBA championships in his nine seasons with the Celtics, then coached them to two more titles in his 8-1/2 years as head coach. Since 1981, he’s been analyzing Celtics games on CSNNE with Mike Gorman, forming the longest-running current broadcast duo in sports television. The Celtics host the Bucks at 7:30 tonight in their home opener on CSNNE.

“Emotionally,” he said, “I still get a kick out of doing the games and watching the team. It’s just the traveling that’s tough. I didn’t want to go to Europe. There’s a drudgery to a week on the road, 10 days on the road. I’ve been there, done that.”

Heinsohn plans to do all the Celtics games on CSNNE except for the long road trips to the West Coast and Texas. Brian Scalabrine and Donny Marshall will share those. CSNNE obviously likes Scalabrine, who tonight will work the pregame and postgame shows and join Gorman and Heinsohn for the second quarter.

Celtics fans young enough to be Heinsohn’s grandchildren still relate to his passion.

“I have fun doing the games,” Heinsohn said. “What I try and do is put a face on the players, what their roles are, how they fulfill them, and anything else I know about them on a personal basis. I don’t criticize anybody. The other team plays pretty well, too.”

But the referees don’t, at least judging by what Heinsohn usually says about them.

“Well, like I always say, there’s three teams out there,” he said.

Does he bite his tongue when he wants to criticize a referee’s call?

“Not often,” he said.

But Celtics fans still love him.

“That’s nice of them,” Heinsohn said.

Heinsohn coached fast-break basketball and he always preaches it on TV, so he expects to enjoy this season more than most. Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley and even Jason Terry are faster than Ray Allen.

“We’re going to be so much more explosive,” Heinsohn said, “because of the set of guards we have now. Ray more often than not would trail the play and (Rajon) Rondo would be up there by himself. These guys are ahead of Rondo, so Rondo is not going to have as difficult of a season. He’ll be able to get the ball ahead. He won’t have to push it on every possession.”

In a word, Heinsohn expects the Celtics to be “formidable” this season.

“If we don’t have a rash of serious injuries,” he said, “if the nucleus holds together, I think we’ll be able to really play well. The guys coming off the bench, they’re really starters for other teams. We’ve got firepower and the defense, and the rebounding should be improved.”

Notwithstanding Green’s sub-par performance in the season-opening loss at Miami Tuesday, Heinsohn expects a big season from the 6-foot-9 forward, who missed all of last season after undergoing heart surgery.

“It’s not very often you get a go-to player and he’s a go-to player,” Heinsohn said. “He’s going to score for you. So at the end of the ballgame, I would suspect that he will be in there with Pierce and KG, Rondo. I think we’ll really be pretty good.”

Yes, Heinsohn refers to the Celtics as “we.” That would be considered taboo for most announcers, but Heinsohn has been a Celtic for most of his life. And at his age, he’s not about to change.

Celtics courtside reporter Greg Dickerson hasn’t felt well so he hasn’t taken part in any CSNNE preseason broadcasts, but he is expected to return to CSNNE soon.

The Milford native missed several games early last season after suffering a couple of seizures and he was later diagnosed with epilepsy. Dickerson also revealed to the T&G in February that he suffered from Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and dyslexia.

CSNNE, apparently trying to respect Dickerson’s privacy, did not mention his absence during preseason games, prompting viewers to wonder where he was. Kyle Draper has filled in for Dickerson.

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